HOW TO: Player Evaluation 101

Ever wish BaseHit had a cheat sheet? Some place you could go for advice on how to evaluate players or build a winning team? Maybe you’re thinking about making some major changes to your roster and aren’t sure how to go about it. Well you’re in luck, because all of that and more is explained in the new 'How To' pages.

What to look for in players - The Basics

The main categories for hitters are DI, BA, and SL. CN can be useful as a secondary skill to the other three.
Pitching categories to focus on are PO, FI, CO, and SY. EN is important to a lesser degree.
Fielding is all about range. Veteran owners hide bad range guys are DH, C, 1B and maybe RF.

Understanding Skills

Hitting:

DI: Discipline leads to more walks and develops later in careers meaning it ages well.
CN: Contact is really only good for preventing strikeouts. You could still be Aaron Judge or Mike Trout.
BA: Batting means more hits, higher babip, and usually a more consistent player.
SL: Slugging can get runs on the board. It means more extra base hits and a higher SLG pct.

Pitching:

PO: Power leads to more flyballs and strikeouts. It declines early-ish. (28-32)
FI: Finesse means more grounders, and usually declines shortly after PO.
CO: Control less walks, and ages fairly well. Alone it can translates into throwing meatballs and batting practice.
SY: Specialty develops late, ages well, drops babip, and can increase other 3 skills. Think of SY as the "IT factor".

Fielding:

RA: Range is THE most important skill for middle infielders and really any position that sees a decent amount of action.
GL: Glove translates into less errors, and is primarily good for 1B. It is an added bonus at other positions.
AR: Arm means more assists, and is important for catchers. It is more of a bonus for SS, 3B, CF, 2B and RF.

Those are some basics to understanding ratings. But there's a lot more to really mastering how they work. When you're ready to dig a little deeper, go to More Player Evaluation Tips.